Neutrosophic Classification of the Factors That Shape the Professional Profile of Students in Ecuadorian Higher Education

Abstract

This article examines the professional profile of university students in the context of uncertainty of Ecuador. What constitutes this professional profile? Technical skills? Soft skills? Demands of the international and national market? This is relevant to the nation because the employability situation of the country depends on economic development. The correlation between higher education and economic development has been complicated by developments that exploit imperfectly educated people for demand within the employment market. Thus, a professional profile is neither the first study of such developments; however, few studies exist that assess the professional profile through uncertainty and contradiction which means that the perceptions of students/teachers/employers are too uncertain to provide a holistic picture. Therefore, neutrosophic set theory is applied to fill the gap, which means that for each factor derived, assessed via neutrosophic sets through various degrees of belonging, uncertainty/indeterminacy, and non-belonging, classification is based on strongness. Ultimately, the results showed that the highest levels of indeterminacy were found for technical skills and soft skills which means that coursework should more intensely integrate such aspects of university life/professional profile. This study contributes to the field by providing a new theoretical application to an uncertainly complicated field of study which will allow for universities and their corresponding segments to know what's best for future curriculum to cement the professional profile. It will also lend to suggestions for implementation—from curricular adjustments to supportive productive sector requirements—to better prepare students for entry into a complicated and ever-evolving labor force.